Learning to Trust
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Kate has been with the team for a year and has many secrets that the team doesn't know. Soon a case overlaps with her personal life and forces her to tell her teammates. Will they be able to help her and will these secrets bring two agents together or will Kate be unwilling to trust Tony enough to let him in?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its characters.**

 **Learning to Trust**

 **A/N: Tim has not joined the team in this story and is not even an agent. He will play a huge role, but in an entirely different capacity, as he is much younger in this story.**

Special Agent Caitlin Todd made her way through the bullpen of NCIS. She was in a bit of a mood. She didn't get much sleep the night before and it showed this morning. She was exhausted. She just hoped it would be a quick and quiet day. Although, with Tony, the quiet thing might not work out so well.

"Morning, Kate!" Tony exclaimed.

Kate groaned. She was right about the quiet thing. "Tone it down, DiNozzo."

"Are you hungover?" Tony asked shocked. Kate wasn't the kind of person to get drunk on a weeknight.

"No, I'm tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night," Kate said as she sat down and started getting herself settled in.

"Why not? What were you doing last night?" Tony asked with a grin.

"Nothing that your gutter of a mind has come up with," Kate said. There was nothing sexual about her night, nor was it anything Tony would guess. Tony would be godsmacked if he knew what her personal life actually included.

"What kept you up then?" Tony wondered.

Kate shrugged. "Just couldn't sleep."

"Well, not sleeping now," Gibbs said as he walked passed them.

"Case, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Uh huh. A Navy Lieutenant Commander's son was attacked this morning," Gibbs said.

"Oh, man," Tony said with a cringe. He hated cases involving children. He didn't see them as often at NCIS, but he saw them a bit as a cop and he hated them every time. Hurting a child was just evil.

"A kid?" Kate asked in horror.

"Yeah, nine-years-old. He's still alive. He's at the hospital. Let's go," Gibbs said.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The team made their way through the hospital and approached a couple. The man had short wavy brown hair and was wearing a navy uniform while the woman had shoulder length blond hair.

"Lieutenant Commander and Mrs. Jones?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, it's about time you guys got here. My son was attacked," Lieutenant Commander Jones said.

"Jake, don't. Excuse him please. We're just really upset about Paul," Mrs. Jones said.

"We understand. How is your son doing?" Kate asked.

"They say he'll be okay. He has a concussion, a couple of cracked ribs, and some bruises. We were really worried about him though. Who would attack a little boy like that? And why our son? We've only been in the area for about a month," Mrs. Jones said.

"I was just deployed here," Jones said.

"We will find out who did this to your son, we promise," Kate said. That was a promise she'd keep. She absolutely despised people who took whatever issues they had out on little kids.

"We're gonna have to take to him," Gibbs said.

"Of course. I'll come with you," Mrs. Jones said.

"Um, actually, it's better if we do it alone. It's just that sometimes children are more forthcoming when their parents aren't around. I promise we'll do everything we can not to upset him further," Kate said.

Mrs. Jones reluctantly nodded.

Kate and Tony immediately headed for the door to boy's room. "Let me handle this, Tony."

"Uh, not sure that's a great idea, Kate. I've interviewed kids before, you haven't. Have you even been around kids before?" Tony whispered.

"I know how to handle it," Kate said before walking into the hospital room. In the bed, she saw a little boy with light brown hair and blue eyes. His face was covered in bruises. It broke Kate's heart and also made her angry. She intended to beat the crap out of the bastard who did this. "Hi, You're Paul, right?"

The boy nodded.

"I'm Kate and this is Tony. We're with NCIS. Do you know what that is?" Kate asked.

Paul nodded and then shifted a bit uncomfortably. "My dad told me. You're the police for the navy."

Kate could see that the boy was scared and very intimidated by them. The poor kid probably thought he was in trouble. She had to get him to relax a bit. "That's right. I used to be with secret service too."

Paul's mouth popped open in awe. "Really? Did you meet the President?"

Kate chuckled. "Yes, I did. I protected him."

"That's so cool! So you've been to the white house?"

"Uh huh."

"What's it like there?" Paul asked.

"It's pretty cool. It's really big. Although, there a lot people there, so it has to be big. I'd guess you've been to some cool places though. Your dad's an important guy. What's it like traveling to different Navy bases?" Kate asked.

Paul shrugged. "I've lived on them my whole life. I really just wish we'd stay in one place. I don't like moving so much."

Tony watched the exchange. He was impressed. Kate had gotten the kid to relax pretty quickly. He was surprised. He didn't think Kate had any experience with kids. She didn't have any of her own and she wouldn't have dealt with them in the Secret Service. She must just be a natural.

"Yeah, that's probably less than fun. Maybe this will be your last move for a while," Kate said.

Paul shrugged.

"Okay, now we have a few questions we have to ask you. Is that okay?" Kate asked.

"Am I in trouble?" Paul asked, getting a little nervous again.

"Absolutely not, honey. You were the one that was hurt. You have done nothing wrong," Kate assured him.

"Yes, I did," Paul said quietly. "I wasn't supposed to be at the park."

"You were skipping school?" Kate asked.

Paul nodded. "It was Alex's idea. Tim and I didn't want to, but he called us babies."

"I'm guessing Alex is older than you?" Tony spoke for the first time.

Paul nodded. "He's eleven and he's really cool. He said cool kids skipped sometimes. We wanted to be cool like him. If we didn't do it, he would make fun of us and maybe get the other kids to too."

"Where are your friends now, Paul. Were they hurt too?" Kate asked alarmed. They were now facing the prospect of other kids being hurt as well. If that was the case, they had to find them.

Paul shook his head. "No. When he got there, he told told me and Alex to get lost or we'd suffer. Alex ran right away. I didn't. I couldn't let him hurt Tim. I got in front of him and told him to leave my friend alone. He wouldn't. He was screaming at him to go with him. Tim was really scared, so I rushed the man and told Tim to run."

Kate and Tony glanced at each other. They both knew they had to find this other kid soon. He was in a lot of danger. "We need to know Tim's full name, Paul," Tony said.

"Tim McGee."

That one name nearly had Kate fainting. She knew it. She knew that boy very well.


	2. Chapter 2

Kate felt an extreme amount of panic when she heard the other boy's name. Her stomach dropped and her heart started to beat rapidly. Her hands were also shaking and she was sure her blood pressure skyrocketed. She was terrified.

"Kate, are you okay?" Tony asked his partner. She'd gone very pale and she looked like she might pass out or have some kind of panic attack.

"Paul, can you repeat your friend's name please?" Kate asked. She heard wrong. She'd been thinking of him since Gibbs told her that a child was attacked, and the first name was the same, so she just imagined his name. It couldn't be him.

"His name's Tim McGee," Paul said again.

Kate's fear doubled as she realized that it was him and that he was in serious danger. She had to find him fast.

"Kate, what's wrong?" Tony asked concerned. He'd never seen such fear in her eyes before. Hell, he wasn't sure he'd ever seen her scared at all, but right now she was completely terrified

Kate immediately fled from the room and passed Gibbs and the Jones'.

Gibbs noticed Kate immediately. "Kate? Kate, where the hell are you going?!" She didn't stop to answer him though. He wasn't even sure she heard him. So instead, he turned to Tony who came out seconds later. "What the hell is going on?"

"I have no idea. We were talking to the kid and all of a sudden she started panicking. It has something to do with one of the other boys involved," Tony said. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it involved that boy, Tim.

"Other boys?" Mrs. Jones asked.

"Go stop her," Gibbs told his senior field agent.

Tony nodded and ran down the hall after Kate.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs exited Paul Jones' hospital room ten minutes later. He'd gotten the whole story from the kid. It made him more than a little uneasy. A child's life was in danger and he hated cases like that. Tim McGee needed to be found fast.

Tony was waiting outside the boy's room when Gibbs came out. "I was too late, Boss. She took off with the car. So we're kinda stranded."

"What exactly happened DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"She flipped out when she heard the other boy's name. She was terrified," Tony said. He still couldn't understand Kate's reaction. It wasn't simply a child being in danger. She was personally invested in this boy's safety.

"She knows this boy," Gibbs said. It wasn't a question. It was the only thing that made sense with Kate suddenly going off the grid.

"Probably. Maybe he's a friend's son," Tony suggested.

"Alright, well, we've got a missing kid right now and that has to take precedence. We get a cab and head back to the office," Gibbs said. He would have to wait to find out what the hell was up with Kate. A missing kid came first.

Tony nodded and they both started down the hall.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked through the bullpen just as Tony got off the phone. "Boss, I got the address for Alexander Rogers."

"The McGee boy?" Gibbs asked.

"They wouldn't give me any information on him. Apparently Mom has strict orders for them not to give out any information to anyone. I explained that it was an emergency, but the principal wouldn't give me anything without a warrant," Tony grumbled.

"Alright, go talk to the Rogers kid," Gibbs said.

"Yes, Boss," Tony said before getting up and heading to the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony was seated in the living room with Alex Rogers and his parents. "Agent, DiNozzo, I"m assuming you're not here because my son was truant," Mr. Rogers said before fixing his son with a glare.

"Yes and no. NCIS certainly doesn't go around lecturing kids about going to school, but your son and his friends encountered a situation today," Tony said.

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Rogers asked worried.

"It's not a big deal, Mom," Alex said.

"Oh, it very much is. Your friend, Paul is in the hospital, Alex, and Tim is missing," Tony said.

"Oh my God!" Mrs. Rogers exclaimed.

"Paul's an idiot. He should've run when that guy told us to," Alex said.

"You ran. You left two younger boys alone with a stranger and didn't get any help for them," Tony said irritated. It wasn't that the kid ran that bugged him. He was still a kid and had no way of taking on a grown man. Kids shouldn't even be expected to try something like that. Paul had and that was admirable, but no kid should be expected to. However, he should've told someone what happened, and at the very least show some kind of concern for his friends now.

Alex shrugged. "I would've gotten in trouble for skipping. Besides, the guy obviously knew Tim. I think it was his dad. They looked kind of alike. I figured he was just pissed that he skipped."

"Do you have any idea where Tim would go? Do you know where he lives?" Tony asked.

"No, I don't know where he lives. I've never been to his house. The only place I can think he would go to is a library or something. He's a geek. He reads a lot," Alex said.

"Alex! You know better than say things like that," Mrs. Rogers admonished.

Tony sighed. He doubted he would find Tim at any library. He wasn't looking for a place to read. He was looking for a safe place. The problem was that Tony didn't know where he would go to feel safe. He couldn't ask the kid's parents because he didn't know yet who they were. "Okay, thank you for talking to me."

"I'll walk you out, Agent DiNozzo,' Mr. Rogers said.

Tony stood up and followed Mr. Rogers to the door.

Mr. Rodgers followed Tony outside and closed the door. "Listen, I met Tim McGee once. I picked Alex up from school one day and the two boys were with him."

"Alright," Tony said waiting for what he had to say next. There was obviously something he wanted to tell him.

"The kid was really nervous around me. I asked Alex about it and he said that he was 'just weird like that'. Agent DiNozzo, I'm a psychologist. It was not simply shyness. Kids don't behave like that unless they've been given a reason to," Mr. Rogers said.

"You think he's abused," Tony said through clenched teeth. He hated abusers. If that kid was abused, he was going to make sure whoever did it found out exactly what it was like to be in that position.

"Is or was, maybe. I guess it's not right for me to say for sure, but something was up with him," Mr. Rogers said.

"Thank you for telling me," Tony said before heading for the car.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony was sitting at his desk on the phone. He was making about the fifth call he had to Kate. Once again, it went straight to voicemail. "Damn it, Kate, rule three exists for a reason! We have a missing kid. I know you get that. I know you know this kid somehow. You're the only link we have to him right now. You need to come back so you can help us find him!" he yelled into the phone before hanging up.

"Give me something, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he walked past him.

Tony cringed, knowing that his boss was not going to be happy with what he had to tell him, since what had to tell him was nothing. "I'm trying to get ahold of Kate. She's the only one whom we know knows this kid."

"How about finding his parents, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked irritably.

"I'm trying, but I have nothing to go on. McGee is a common last name. I found four in the area and none of them check out with this boy. The school isn't telling us anything and there's no other leads. I started looking other possible attacks on the off chance that there was a pattern, but nothing," Tony said. He hadn't really expected to find anything anyway. This boy was clearly a target. the bastard had been ready to let the other two go. Paul Jones was only attacked because he bravely defended his friend.

"It's almost five. Someone has to be worried about this boy," Gibbs said.

"I've already checked with local LEOs. No one has reported him missing. No one's reported the incident in the park either. I thought for a second he might have went home and told his parents, but if he did, they didn't report it," Tony said.

Gibbs shook his head. "No, my gut tells me this kid is still in the wind."

"If what I heard at the Rogers' is right, that makes sense. If he's abused, he's not gonna go tell his folks that he skipped school," Tony said.

"Not a leap we're gonna make based off hearsay," Gibbs said. He wasn't willing to take a stranger's word that a child was abused. That was a very serious accusation. He wasn't willing to condemn a couple on the word of someone who met the child once. If Tim McGee was abused though, he'd make damn sure he didn't go home.

"I don't get why Kate took off. She should just tell us what's going on. She could help us find him," Tony said in frustration.

Gibbs was at a loss for that too. Kate's actions didn't make any sense. If she knew this boy, she should tell them that, along with what she knew. That would make sense. She obviously wasn't thinking clearly. She wasn't behaving like an agent. She was acting more like…

"Boss?" Tony asked. He'd noticed that Gibbs seemed to be trying to figure out why Kate had done it and then he looked like he might have an explanation.

"Be back," Gibbs said before walking up the stairs and to the director's office. He bypassed Morrow's secretary and walked into his office. "Need to see Kate's personnel file."

"What for?" Morrow asked.

"Hunch," was all Gibbs said.

Normally, Morrow would want a better reason for pulling out an agent's file, but this was Gibbs. If he needed to see Agent Todd's file, he had a good reason. So he got up and retrieved her file from the file cabinet. He then walked over to Gibbs and handed it over.

Gibbs opened the file and started looking. He didn't have far to look. It was on the first page. He found he was right. It made sense why Kate took off now. It would've been smarter for her to tell them and let them help, but she wasn't thinking clearly. No one in her situation could think clearly.

"Everything alright, Jethro?" Morrow asked.

Gibbs didn't answer. He just left the room, file in hand and walked back downstairs.

Tony was getting off the phone when his boss came back. "I just tried her again, Boss."

"You can stop calling, DiNozzo. She's not gonna answer," Gibbs said before placing the open file in front of Tony.

Tony glanced at it and then looked up at Gibbs in shock. "This can't be true."

"It is. Makes sense with how she reacted," Gibbs said.

"But why wouldn't she tell us?" Tony asked feeling hurt. He and Kate were partners and he thought they were friends too. Friends didn't hide things like this.

"Some people prefer their private lives to remain that way. Her reasons don't matter right now. We have to find her and the kid," Gibbs said.

Tony nodded. "I'll check her apartment," Tony said before standing up and heading for the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony made his way to Tony's apartment. He hoped to find her there or something to help him find Tim. He was about to knock when he noticed the look. It was jimmied. Someone had picked the look.

Tony immediately took out his gun before opening the door and slowly making his way inside. As soon as he walked inside, he was greeted with a gun in his own face. He relaxed when he saw who it was. "Kate."

Kate lowered her gun. "What are you doing here, Tony?"

"Where have you been, Kate?" Tony countered.

"Everywhere," Kate said before putting her gun away. "I've been to every park around and looked in very place he might go to hide. I can't find him. I was hoping he'd call me, but he hasn't."

"Why did you take off? You should've stayed with us and let us help," Tony said.

"Yes, you told me that less civilly in your message," Kate said irritably.

Tony cringed. He regretted that message now. Now he knew what she was going through and he felt bad for adding to her problems.

"I haven't exactly been thinking clearly," Kate said. It was an understatement. She'd been panicked since she left the hospital and that only continued as the hours passed.

"I know. It's going to be okay, Kate. We'll find him. We'll find your son."


	4. Chapter 4

Kate was seated on her couch. She was barely keeping herself from falling apart. Her little boy was missing and she had no idea what to do next. She'd looked everywhere and could not find . What was she supposed do now?

Tony came in a second later. He'd just searched the rest of the apartment for any sign of whoever broke in. "There's no sign. Aside from the jimmied lock, there's no sign that this place was broken into."

"I told you there was no sign. I already looked before you got here. It wasn't a robbery, Tony. It was either a kidnapping or an attempted kidnapping," Kate said. She prayed it was the latter. She couldn't bare the thought of her son in _his_ hands. He'd already done too much damage to her boy and she'd promised him it wouldn't happen again.

"Could Tim have gotten back in? Does he have a key?" Tony asked.

"No, there's no reason for him to have one. He's nine. He's never here alone. I pick him up from the neighbor's upstairs every night. Before you ask, I already called her hours ago. She hasn't seen him," Kate said.

"Okay, then that means whoever did this didn't get to him here," Tony said, trying to give her some hope.

"Unless he came home while the bastard was here," Kate said.

"You say that like you know who did this," Tony commented.

"I do. I knew right after realizing that my son was targeted. My son of a bitch ex-husband hurt that kid and tried to take Tim," Kate said.

"Tim's father?" Tony asked.

Kate nodded. "John McGee. He's the biggest asshole you'll ever meet. We married right after I found out I was pregnant. I divorced him when Tim was seven," Kate said.

Tony went and sat down next to her. "Are you sure? Is John the type that would hurt a child?"

Kate could hear what Tony was really asking. He wanted to know if her son was abused, but he was afraid of how she'd react to the question. "I came home one day in time to see him smack Tim across the face. The bastard is lucky I didn't have my gun on me. I found out from Tim later that he'd been doing it for a while. He just made sure that any bruised I discovered could be easily explained. He was abusing my son and I didn't know about it. I'll never understand how I didn't realize it."

"It's not your fault," Tony said. He knew Kate would've stopped it the second she found out. She would never allow someone to hurt her child. She would've beaten the crap out of the bastard and then kicked him out. She wasn't one of those women who let abuse happen.

"My son was being abused and I didn't know. What kind of mother doesn't know? Kate asked. She had never and would never stop blaming herself for what her child had to go through. She should've figured it out and protected him. "His demeanor changed. I could see how little by little, by boy became afraid and nervous. John told me it was due to kids at school. When I wanted to go talk to the principal, John assured me he'd already done that and that it wouldn't happen again. He said Tim just needed time to get over being bullied."

"Kate, when you found out the truth, you got your son away from him. A lot of moms let it happen. They say they love their kids, but they let them continue to be abused. You didn't let it continue. You protected your child," Tony told her. He wouldn't let her blame herself. She was a good mother. She protected her child when some mothers would turn a blind eye

Kate sighed and picked up a picture that was on the end table next to her. "I have to find him. I promised him his father would never touch him again."

Tony peered over at the photo. It looked like a school photo of a little boy. He had short dirty blond hair and green eyes. He was wearing a plaid blue and white button down shirt. He was a cute kid. Tony could picture that kid having everyone loving him with just one look. He couldn't understand how his father could hurt him. "He's cute. He doesn't look a lot like you though."

"No, he looks like John. Looks are the only thing they have in common. I need to get back out there. I have to find him," Kate said before putting the picture down and standing up. She had no idea where else to look, but she had to find her son.

"You know where to look?" Tony asked.

"No. And if John doesn't have him, I don't understand why he hasn't found a way to contact me. He knows where I work and my cell and work phone number. Although, he may not trust anyone enough to ask for help," Kate said. Tim didn't like strangers at all. The damage his father had done to him left him afraid of people he didn't know.

An idea suddenly occurred to Tony. "Maybe he's lost."

"What?" Kate asked.

"He was scared. His abusive father came inches away from him and his friend was attacked. He probably just took off and didn't think about where he was going. There are a lot of woods by the park they were attacked in and it's easy to disappear in the trees. By the time he stopped moving, maybe he didn't know where he was," Tony said. He felt like an idiot for not thinking of it earlier. They'd searched the park and everything surrounding it, but they hadn't gone into the woods to look.

Kate thought about it for a minute and kicked herself mentally. She should've thought about that sooner. Her little boy might be out there lost somewhere, and that had to make him even more afraid. "My God. My son may be out there somewhere not knowing how to get home. Let's go look. We have to look

Tony nodded and let the way out of the apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

Kate and Tony arrived at the park about fifteen minutes later. Gibbs was there waiting with a couple of other agents to search. Tony had called him right after they'd left Kate's apartment.

"Hey, Gibbs. Look, I'm sorry…"

"Don't," Gibbs cut off.

"Gibbs, you may not believe in apologies, but I do and I owe you one," Kate said.

"No, you don't. You found out from a victim that your son was nearly abducted. You did what you thought was right for your child. Wish you'd come to us, but you don't think clearly when your kid is in trouble," Gibbs said. He knew he probably shocked everyone there by saying this, but he did get this. He'd had a child too. He couldn't say what he would've done if Kelly had ever disappeared. The situation hit a little close to home for him because Kate's son was around the same age as Kelly was when she was killed.

"Thank you," Kate said with shock etched in her voice and on her face.

"You got a picture, Kate. We need some idea of who we're looking for," Gibbs said.

Kate nodded and pulled a wallet sized picture from her pocket and handed it to Gibbs.

Gibbs looked at the picture for a few seconds and then handed it to one of the agents behind him. "You two take that with you. We'll be splitting up. Kate, you go with Tony."

"Uh, Gibbs, don't take this the wrong way, but my son takes one look at you and he's gonna be terrified. I think I should go with you," Kate said. Honestly, all these people were going to scare the hell out of Tim. He didn't like strangers. He was always worried that one would hurt him. She could thank John for that fear. But Gibbs would frighten him the most. Kate had seen Gibbs with kids and he was amazing, but first glance was pretty scary. Her child was probably already terrified. She didn't want him frightened any further.

Gibbs nodded curtly and motioned for her to follow him.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim McGee was sitting against a tree in the middle of the woods hugging his knees and trying hard not to cry. He was really scared. His father had popped up out of nowhere while he was in the park with his friends. Seeing the man alone terrified him. He hadn't seen his father since the last time he hit him. He would hit him a lot when no one was around and would call him names. He was glad when he didn't have to see him anymore.

Things had gotten really bad after his dad showed up. Alex ran away and then Paul attacked his father and told him to run. Tim didn't want to leave Paul there, but he was really scared of what his father might do to him, so he ran into the woods. He'd hoped that he could hide behind the trees and his dad wouldn't find him. That seemed to work, but he ran so far that now he didn't know where he was. He had been there all day. It was dark now and he still had no idea how to get back.

Tim shivered a bit. It was getting really cold and he had a really light jacket on. He was also really hungry. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. He wanted to go home. He knew it wasn't a very grown up thing to think, and Alex would make fun of him big time for thinking it, but he wanted his mother. If he saw her, he'd know things would be okay.

Tim wished to God that he hadn't let Alex talk him into skipping school. He knew that was wrong and that he'd be in big trouble if his mom found out, but Alex said you did that sometimes when you were cool. He said that if he and Paul didn't do it too then they weren't cool enough to hang out with him. Tim didn't have any other friends but Paul and Alex, so he agreed.

"Tim!"

Tim immediately stood up, startled by the male voice that called out to him. He didn't know that voice, but somehow the man knew him. He was scared. The man didn't sound mean, but he didn't like strangers. He always worried that the person would be like his dad and try to hurt him.

"Tim, if you can hear me, say something, buddy! I wanna take you to your mom!" the man yelled.

Tim wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to go home to his mom, but what if the man was lying. What if he was really trying to help his dad get him. Even if he wasn't, the man was a stranger. He'd been taught just like everyone else at a young age that strangers were bad. But this was the only chance he had of getting home. "I...I'm over h...here!"

Tim's heart pounded as he heard footsteps. Then he saw light from a flashlight as a man came towards him. He instantly took a step back, now regretting his decision to call out.

"Hey, buddy. My name's Tony. I work with your mom," Tony said with a reassuring smile. He made sure not to go too close. He could tell the boy was terrified, both of him and the situation, and he didn't wanna scare him further.

Tim remembered that name. He heard his mom talking to his Aunt Rachel on the phone one day about someone named Tony. He wasn't sure if this was who she was talking about though. A lot of people had that name.

"Your mom's really worried about you. Can you come with me back to her?" Tony asked.

"W...Why isn't she here?" Tim asked.

"She's here in the woods. She's looking for you with our boss. We've been looking for you all day. Your friends told us what happened and we started looking," Tony said.

"Is P...Paul okay?" Tim asked.

"Yeah," Tony said simply. He wasn't going to tell the kid that his friend was in the hospital. Kate would do that at some point. The kid didn't need the undeserved guilt that Tony knew he'd feel

Tim breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to worry about Paul anymore. He was still scared for himself though.

"Do you think we can go now?" Tony asked.

Tim was still very hesitant to trust this man. He didn't know him and he wasn't sure he could trust what he said

"I won't hurt you, Tim. I just wanna help you and your mom. Will you please let me?" Tony asked before holding out his hand.

In the end, Tim's desire to his mother and go home won out over the fear and he hesitantly walked towards the man.

Tony smiled. "Great. I need you to take my hand. It's starting to get really dark and I don't want you to get lost again."

Tim very hesitantly reached his very shaky hand out and placed it in Tony's. He couldn't help but flinch when the man gently tugged at his hand.

"You watch a lot of movies, Tim?" Tony asked.

"S...some," Tim stuttered.

"Well, I'm a movie buff, so I think that's what we're gonna talk about while we find your mom," Tony said as he led him away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Kate and Gibbs were walking through the woods, both carrying flashlights. Kate was worried. Well, she'd been worried all day, but they'd been looking for a while and there was no sign of her son. She was afraid he wasn't sure, and if not, she didn't know where he was. "Tim! Tim, it's Mom! Answer me please, Baby!"

"Alright, Kate, we're not going to assume this yet, but just in case, if your ex-husband did get him, any idea where he would take him?" Gibbs asked. He'd had Kate fill him in on everything she knew or suspected while they searched.

"If John has Tim, he's taking him away, probably out of the country. That's the only way he'd be able to keep him from me. He knows I have a lot of connections," Kate said. She tried very hard not to think about her ex-husband having Tim. She didn't wanna think about him in that bastard's hands.

"He have any connections?" Gibbs asked.

"He has a few Navy buddies, I'm sure. Most of them turned on him when they found out he was a child abuser though. Tim!" she yelled again.

"We'll find him one way or another, and this bastard will pay," Gibbs promised.

"Mom?"

Kate turned her flashlight to the right just in time to see Tony come through the trees with her son holding his hand. She let out a huge sigh of relief. Her boy was safe. "Thank God. Come here," she said as she crouched down to her son's level.

Tim let go of Tony's hands and ran into his mother's arms. "I'm glad you're here, Mom. I got lost. Dad was there and I ran."

"I know, sweetie. It's alright. He's never getting near you again," Kate said as she rubbed his back soothingly.

Tim pulled away from his mother after a minute. "I'm sorry, Mom."

Kate sighed. She knew her son deserved a lecture and he would get it later, but right now she wanted to make sure he was okay and then get him home. "We'll talk about it later, buddy. Are you okay? Were you hurt at all?"

Tim shook his head.

"Well, we're going to take a ride to see a friend of mine to make sure," Kate said. She planned to take him back to NCIS to see Ducky, since all doctor's offices would be closed by then

"A doctor?" Tim asked with a groan. He hated doctors.

"Yes. You'll be fine. Then we'll get you something to eat and go home," Kate told him.

Tim's stomach grumbled just at the mention of food. "Okay."

"Tony, go with them. I'll let the other agents know we found him and meet you in the parking lot," Gibbs said.

Tony nodded and started off with Kate and her son.


	6. Chapter 6

Kate led her son down towards Autopsy at NCIS. They had just gotten off the elevator when they ran into Jimmy Palmer "Hey, Palmer. Ducky's still here, right?"

"Yeah. Agent Gibbs called just as we were both leaving and asked him to stay. He's waiting for you," Jimmy said before glancing down at the little boy who was sticking very close to Kate, like he was afraid.

"Jimmy, this is my son, Tim. Tim, this is Jimmy Palmer," Kate introduced. She could see the curiosity on Palmer's face and knew he would ask if she didn't offer the information.

Jimmy looked more than a little surprised. He had no idea that Kate had a child. Although, he hadn't been with NCIS very long and he wasn't very close with the agents on Agent Gibbs' team. "Hi, Tim."

"H...hi," Tim stuttered as he leaned into his mother's side.

"As you can see, he's not wild about strangers. Uh, is everything put away in there?" Kate asked. Her son had had a traumatizing day already. The last thing she needed was for him to be introduced to his first dead body.

"Oh, yeah. Like I said, we were just about to leave," Jimmy said.

"Thanks. See you later," Kate said before walking with her son into autopsy. Ducky was there waiting.

"Hello, Caitlin. Jethro said you would be joining me. Can I assume this young lad is the reason?" Ducky asked before smiling at the young boy.

"Yeah, this is my son, Tim. This is Ducky, Tim," Kate said.

Ducky looked at Kate astonished. He never knew she had a child. He didn't doubt there were things about his coworkers that he didn't know, but he never would've assumed a hidden son would be one of them. "You've managed to shock me Caitlin. I didn't know you had a son."

"I know. It's nothing personal. I just don't like to mix my work and personal lives," Kate said. Actually, it was really that she just didn't trust Tim with people so easily after finding out that her husband was abusing him. She'd even done extensive background checks, as well as performed an interrogation on the woman who watched him every day.

"Of course. I can only assume something happened that left you no choice," Ducky said.

"Yeah. Tim went missing today. We just found him lost in the woods. I was hoping you'd check him out for me. I just wanna make sure he's okay," Kate said.

"Of course. Hop up on one of the tables, young man," Ducky said.

Tim looked at his mother pleadingly. He hated doctors and strangers. This man fit both categories.

Kate shook her head. "Nope, that won't work. We're not leaving until you have a full bill of health," she said before grabbing a stool from a few feet away and bringing it over to the table. The table was just a bit too high for her son to get up without assistance. "Go on."

Tim groaned stepping up on the stool and then jumping onto the table.

"There's nothing to worry about, Timothy. I promise I am gentle," Ducky said before grabbing his bag off of one of the tables and pulling out a stethescope. "You know, I got lost a few times myself."

Tim flinched as the man places the stethescope against his chest.

Kate put a hand on her son's shoulder and squeezed it. "It's okay. You know I won't let anyone hurt you."

Ducky glanced between the two. He suspected there was something more to the child's fear than just not liking doctors, but he would not pry into their business. "Yes, I got lost one day while I was with my father. I wandered off while we were in town. It took two hours for him to find me."

"Your father must have been terrified, Ducky. I certainly was," Kate said.

"Well, times were different back then. People didn't worry as much about something happening to their children. I was more worried than him and only because we were in a part of town I didn't know and I wasn't sure how to get home from where I was," Ducky said as he began taking Tim's blood pressure.

"Still, I'm sure he was happy when he found you," Kate said.

"Of course. He's perfectly fine, Caitlin. The only problem I see is that his stomach is growling. I'd wager it's been a while since you've had a meal, hasn't it, Lad?" Ducky asked.

Tim nodded.

"Okay, let's go yet you something to eat and get home," Kate said.

"I have a solution to the first problem," Tony said as he entered the room with a fast food bag and a drink.

Kate turned to him. "You didn't have to do that, Tony."

"I know, but I knew he was hungry and I figured you'd wanna get home right away," Tony said as he made his way over and held the bag and drink out.

Tim immediately grabbed the bag. He took out a couple of fries and ate them.

"What do you have to say?" Kate asked her son before talking the soda from Tony.

"Thank you," Tim.

"Your welcome, buddy.

"Okay, let's go. You can eat in the car. Tony, you mind giving us a lift since you drove?" Kate asked.

"Nope, that was the plan. Gibbs is gonna meet us there. Hell, he'll probably be there before us," Tony said.

Kate frowned. "Why?"

"He's putting a new lock on your door," Tony said.

"He doesn't have to do that."

"But he is. Come on, let's go," Tony said

Kate motioned for her son to come before turning to Ducky. "Thanks for looking at him, Ducky."

"Of course, Caitlin. Goodbye, Timothy," Ducky said.

Tim jumped down and waved before the three of them left.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Kate was outside her apartment with Gibbs watching as he finished installing the new locks. "I appreciate this, Gibbs, but you didn't have to."

"You need locks, Kate. That SOB comes back, I want it to at least be difficult for him to get in. Not that he'll get anywhere if he does," Gibbs said.

"No, he won't. I'll shoot him if he tries to take my son," Kate said firmly.

"You won't be the only one to try. Tony's on protection detail. Don't argue. Let's not take chances here," Gibbs said.

"I wasn't gonna argue," Kate said. Honestly, if it were just her, she would argue, loudly, but her son was the one at risk and she wouldn't take chances with his safety. She'd come way too close to losing him today.

"Good. Locks are done," Gibbs said before standing up. "The keys are on the table."

"Thanks," Kate said.

"Need you to bring your son in tomorrow. We need a statement from him," Gibbs said.

Kate immediately opened her mouth to protest.

"You can stay with him," Gibbs told her before she could argue. It wasn't normally how things went with witnesses, but he could see how freaked out this kid was around people he didn't know. He'd seen it personally when the boy looked at him. It was alright back in the woods, probably because the kid was just so happy to see his mother, but when he saw him when Kate brought him home, Tim looked very frightened.

"Okay," Kate relented. She knew it had to be done if she was going to stop John.

"See you tomorrow," Gibbs said before walking away.

Kate walked inside her apartment and found her son on the couch next to Tony. They were playing a video game. Her son actually looked pretty relaxed, which surprised her. Well, okay not really relaxed. He still looked a little uneasy, but nowhere near how he usually was with people. Her son did not like strangers. Then again, most strangers he met didn't sit and play video games with him. Also, Tony rescued him and had been extremely nice to him since then, so that probably helped.

"Oh, come on!" Tony whined.

"I won," Tim said with a grin.

"Rematch," Tony challenged.

"I don't think so. It's time for bed, Tim," Kate said.

Tim looked stricken. He didn't wanna go to sleep. He was afraid to sleep. What if he went to sleep and his dad showed up and took him away?

Kate sighed. She knew the problem right away. "It's gonna be okay, Baby. Nothing's gonna happen while you're sleeping."

"But what if Dad comes," Tim asked.

"Then we will stop him. You know I won't let him hurt you. Tony's going to stay too to make sure of it. He's my friend and he's here to help me keep you safe. I promise it'll be okay," Kate said.

"I'm scared," Tim said in a shaky voice.

Kate went over to her son and knelt beside him. "I know you're afraid, Sweetie. I'm sorry. Look, nothing bad is going to happen. I will not let anyone hurt you. You have to go to sleep, Tim. You can't just never go to sleep again."

"Why does Dad want me? He doesn't even like me," Tim said.

Tony shook his head in disgust. No kid should ever have to say those words. No kid should ever have to be so afraid of their father that they were afraid to go to sleep either. This little boy truly had a terrible father.

"It doesn't matter why Dad wants you. He's not going to get you. He will never touch you again," Kate promised.

"Your mom's right, buddy. You don't have to be scared to go to sleep. I'll stay up and make sure no one hurts you," Tony promised.

"You will?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, I promise," Tony said.

"Okay," Tim said after a minute.

"Alright, go get ready for bed. I'll be there in a minute," Kate told her son.

"Okay," Tim said before getting up and heading for his room.

Kate stood up. "Thanks, but you don't have to stay up all night."

"Yes, I do. I promised. It's clear that kid doesn't trust easily and he's trusting me to keep my promise. I will do that," Tony said firmly.

"Thank you, for everything you did tonight. You found my son and you brought him back to me," Kate said.

"You and Gibbs would've if I hadn't. Why didn't you tell me about him?" Tony asked. He'd wanted to ask since he found out, but was much more concerned with finding Tim. Now he was home, so Tony could ask.

Kate sighed. "You're gonna take this the wrong way. I am very overprotective. I don't trust many people with him."

"You thought I'd hurt him?" Tony asked in hurt and disbelief. He couldn't believe it. He had worked with Kate for over a year. She should know by now that he wouldn't hurt her child.

"No, I didn't, but I didn't think his father would either. I found my husband beating my son. I don't trust my judgement after that. So I don't trust my son with people until I've learned every single aspect of their lives. I mean, I'm forced to trust him to teachers and to someone after school because I can't let his life by affected anymore than it has, but other than that, who I trust him with is a very short list. I'm sorry if this upsets you, but trust is just something that doesn't come easy to me anymore," Kate said.

Tony nodded. After hearing the explanation, he did understand more. Tim wasn't the only hurt by her husband's actions, though he was the most important and prominent one. Kate was affected too. He'd taken her ability to trust away. "I understand, but I'm going to say again that what happened isn't your fault."

"I need to go tuck my son in. I'll be right back," Kate said before quickly leaving the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Kate woke up the next morning by eight. She was exhausted. Tim had woken up yelling for her three times during the night from nightmares. That was only partially why she couldn't sleep though. She too was uneasy due to her bastard ex-husband attempting to steal her child. Yes, Tony was there, but she didn't trust anyone, not even members of her own team with her son's safety. She was the only one she trusted to protect Tim.

As soon as Kate stepped out of her room, she smelt the aroma of coffee. "Oh, thank you, Tony," she said to herself before making a beeline to the kitchen. She found her partner there pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Tony turned as soon as he heard her. "Hey, Kate. I hope you don't mind, but this is the only thing that has kept me awake in the last few hours."

"I'm grateful. I need it too,' Kate said before grabbing a cup from one of the top cabinets and pouring herself a cup of coffee. She added some cream and sugar that Tony left on the counter and took a sip. "You really didn't have to stay up all night."

"I promised that I would," Tony said.

"Tim wouldn't have known any different and I was awake most of the night anyway," Kate said before taking another gulp of her coffee.

"If I had broken my promise, I prove that that little boy is right not to trust people," Tony said. He had a soft spot for that kid the moment he met him and wanted to be someone he could trust. Breaking a promise, whether the kid found out about it or not, would not accomplish that goal.

"I appreciate that, Tony, but it's not your job to prove to my son that good people exist," Kate said. She really did appreciate what Tony was trying to do. He wanted Tim to know that not everyone he met would harm him the way his father was. She was touched by it. She didn't want him to feel he had to do it though.

"I know. I just hate that a child has been so traumatized that he's afraid to even let someone near him. It's not right for a kid to be scared like that. I wanna help him. If I can help by missing one night's sleep, I'm okay with it." Tony said before taking a sip of his coffee. "Anyway, Gibbs expected me to be awake anyway. What good is a guard who sleeps on the job?"

"Thank you," Kate said with a smile.

Just then, young voice was heard. "Mom?"

Kate turned to him. "Hi, Sweetheart. I'm glad you're awake. I was going to come wake you soon."

"I don't wanna go to school," Tim said. He was really tired and really wanted to go back to sleep, plus he was scared that his dad would show up at school and make him go with him.

"You're not. We're going to my work to talk to one of my coworkers," Kate told him.

Tim groaned. "Do I have to see the doctor again?"

"No, we're going to talk to my boss, Gibbs. He's the guy that was fixing our door yesterday," Kate said. She then waited for the freakout she knew was coming.

Tim's eyes went wide. He knew the man his mom was talking about. It was the grey haired man. He scared Tim a lot. Most people scared him, but that guy looked really mean and angry all the time. It reminded him how his father always looked. "No, Mom, I don't want to."

"We have to, Tim. You need to tell him what happened in the park," Kate said.

"Why can't I tell you?" Tim asked.

"Because I'm your mom and the rules say it has to be someone other than me. I can stay with you though. I'll be with you while you talk to him," Kate promised.

"No, please, I don't want to," Tim said pleadingly.

Kate groaned. She wanted to give in. Her little boy was scared and she hated that. She wanted to tell him he didn't have to do it so that he'd feel safe, but she couldn't. "You have to, Baby."

"Hey, Tim, it's okay. I know Gibbs looks scary, but he's a nice guy. He just wants to help make sure you're safe," Tony said.

"You know I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, Tim. It will be quick and then we'll come home. Now I need you to get in the shower," Kate told him.

Tim sighed in defeat and left the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked towards the conference room where Kate and her son were waiting. He decided to do it there to make it easier for the kid. He knew that little boy was already nervous around people he didn't know. Putting him in an interrogation room would terrify him.

When Gibbs got to the conference room, Tony was waiting outside. "DiNozzo, I told you to get some sleep in Abby's lab."

"Boss, let me question him. He's scared," Tony said..

"You think I'm gonna scar a nine-year-old, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"No, of course not, but he's terrified of you. You must have seen the way he looked at you last night. I think you remind him of his father," Tony said.

"More reason for me to do it," Gibbs said. Tony was right, he did see the way that kid looked at him and it made him angry. Not at the boy, of course, but at the man who'd instilled that fear. A certain fear of strangers should exist in every child, but not to the extent that it existed in this little boy. When Kate brought the boy home and he'd seen Gibbs for the first time after having time to recover from the trauma of being in the woods, he was terrified, so much so that he was shaking. Kate had had to usher him inside where he was out of Gibbs' sight to calm him down. He hated that a child was that scared of him, especially a child of a one of his agents. He felt he had to find a way of taking that fear away where he was concerned. He didn't want this child so terrified of him. Having the kid talk to him might help with that. "Go down to the lab, Tony. Get some sleep.

Tony sighed and reluctantly walked away.

Gibbs walked into the conference room and found Kate and her son seated at the table. The boy immediately clung to his mother's side when he saw him and looked away.

"Kate," Gibbs said as he made his way over to them and sat down.

"Hey, Gibbs," Kate said as she tried unsuccessfully to comfort her son

Gibbs smiled slightly at the boy. "Hey, buddy. I'm Gibbs. You can call me Jethro too if you want. Just don't call me Leroy. That's technically my name, but only my dad calls me that."

Kate couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It was weird to hear Gibbs talk about his family. He'd never mentioned any family. Then again, Gibbs wasn't a big talker in general.

Tim was surprised by the gentle tone the man used, as he reminded him so much of his father. The look he had in his eyes was the same and Tim feared he would be just like him. He turned his head slightly to look at the man, but made no move at all to leave his mother's arms.

Gibbs smiled more and looked at the boy kindly. It was a look he rarely gave to anyone besides children. "Hi. I know you're scared, pal, but I promise no one will hurt you. I asked your mom to bring you here so I can help. I wanna help make sure you're safe."

Tim felt a little better with the calm and kind way the man talked to him, but he was still very nervous and afraid. His dad could sound nice too when he wanted. He remembered before his mom found out that his dad would hit him. He was always nice when she was around and even once in a while when she wasn't. But he never knew when the man would turn on him. What if his mother's boss was the same way.

Gibbs sighed. The kid was obviously very frightened. He had to get him more relaxed before he questioned him. He wasn't sure how though. This kid was more traumatized than any other child he'd worked with before. Maybe he should've let Tony handle it. The kid might have been better with him. But the decision had already been made. He'd just have to figure this out. "You don't wanna be here. Can't blame you for that. This place isn't really fun. What do you like to do for fun? You play any sports?"

Tim shook his head. "I l...like s…soccer some, but n...not on teams. I'm not g...good."

"Eh, teams sometimes make it less fun anyway. What else do you like to do? Video games? I heard you playing one with Tony last night," Gibbs said.

Tim smiled slightly. "Y...yeah. I like v...video games and c...computer games."

"You beat Tony yesterday?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes. I don't th...think he plays much. I won by a lot," Tim said as began to ease out of his mother's arms.

Gibbs laughed. "He'll have to practice if he wants to beat you. What's your favorite game?"

"I l...like f...fighting games, role playing games, and sports games. I'm g...good at them if their v...virtual," Tim said.

Kate sighed in relief as she saw that her son was becoming more calm. He was no longer clinging to her in fear and he was stuttering less.

"Maybe I"ll have you show me one of your games sometime. Don't really play games. Maybe I'll try it," Gibbs said.

"Okay," Tim said.

"I gotta ask you some questions about yesterday. Is that okay?"

Tim nodded reluctantly. "Yes, sir."

"Can you tell me what happened when you got to the park? Was your father waiting for you?" Gibbs asked. He doubted that, as he would've had to know what those kids had been planning, but he had to know for sure.

Tim shook his head. "He showed up right after we got there."

"He must have followed him from school, Gibbs. He saw an opportunity when he realized they were skipping," Kate said through gritted teeth.

"A...am I in Tr...trouble for that?" Tim asked as fear began to overcome him once more. He was young, but he knew that it was illegal to skip school.

"Probably with your Mom, not with us," Gibbs assured him.

"We will be discussing it," Kate told her son sternly. Given the circumstances, she really didn't wanna punish him, as he already suffered for it, but she couldn't completely let it go. She needed to make sure her son wouldn't try something like this again. Not only was skipping school not okay, but he'd placed himself in danger by going off somewhere without telling her.

"Right now, your dad's in much more trouble than you. Can you tell what happened when he got to the park?" Gibbs asked.

Tim leaned back into his mother's arms, this time not out of fear, but need for comfort. "W...were were hanging out by the swings and he came over. H...He told me I had to go with him. H...he said I'd r...regret it if I didn't come i...immediately."

Kate held her son tightly. "It's okay, Baby. He will never touch you again."

"Th...then he t...told Alex and Paul to leave. A...Alex ran, but P...Paul wouldn't. H...he saw that I was scared and k...knew that Dad would hurt me, s...so he told me to run and he j...jumped on him. I...I was scared!" Tim cried. He knew he shouldn't have left Paul. It was all his fault that Paul got hurt and was in the hospital. His mom told him about that right before they left the house. He felt really bad about it. His friend was hurt because of him.

"No, sweetheart. This isn't your fault," Kate told her son.

"Tim, your dad is the bad guy. He's the one who hurt your friend. I promise he won't get away with it. We're gonna put him in jail," Gibbs promised.

Kate held her son for a few minutes until he calmed down some, then she pulled away. "Okay, I"m gonna go outside and talk with Gibbs for a minute. I"ll be right back."

Tim nodded.

Kate and Gibbs both got up and walked out of the room. "Kate, why isn't this SOB already in prison?" Gibbs asked.

Kate sighed. "I filed charges, but John was good at hiding what he did. Any bruise he left on my child could be explained in some other way. The only way I could get him put away was for Tim to testify. You witnessed for yourself the damage John did to my son."

"He couldn't have testified," Gibbs said. There was no question at all that that little boy could've told a bunch of strangers what his father did, especially while he was looking at the man.

"No, and I wasn't going to even try to force him. I made John a deal. I would drop the charges if he agreed not to contest the divorce and gave me full custody of Tim," Kate explained. She'd always hated that the bastard got off, but her son was more important. Besides, it wasn't as if John didn't pay. Everyone he worked for and with knew what he was and that was worse than prison for him.

Gibbs nodded understandingly. "We'll find him. I'm gonna assign a detail to the two of you until then. You should probably go to a safe house too."

Kate shook her head. "I'm not going to pull my son out of his home. John has already caused Tim enough damage. I'm not going to let him completely disrupt his life. I will accept the protection and keep Tim out of school, but I will let him run us out."

"Okay. Anyone McGee would go to for help?" Gibbs asked.

"He might go to a few Navy friends. I'll write down some names before we leave," Kate said.

Gibbs nodded. "Don't go anywhere until I can arrange for protection detail."

Kate nodded and walked back into the conference room.


	8. Chapter 8

Kate was in the kitchen getting dinner ready while her son sat at the kitchen table doing schoolwork. After leaving NCIS, they'd stopped by the school to pick up Tim's assignments for the rest of the week.

Kate soon heard a knock at the door, followed by her son's fearful yelp. "It's fine, Tim. It's probably just the agent outside," she said before going to open the door. She checked through the peephole and saw that it was Tony. She immediately opened it. "Hey."

"Hi," Tony said before walking inside.

"Is there news on John?" Kate asked as she shut the door.

"No, I just wanted to check on you guys. Hey, Tim," Tony greeted once spotting the boy at the dining room table.

"Hi," Tim said timidly.

"You wanna stay for dinner? It's the least I can do after you spent the whole night up to appease my son," Kate said.

"Sure. You can cook, right? I don't want food poisoning," Tony joked.

Kate smacked him lightly on the arm before heading back to the kitchen.

Tony approached Tim "Hey, man. How about we have that rematch from last night after you finish that."

"I can't," Tim said depressed. It was his punishment for skipping school. He wasn't allowed to play his video games for a week.

Tony cringed. "Groundings suck, don't they?"

Tim smiled slightly and nodded.

"Well, we can do it another day. We're having that rematch. Last night was an off night. I'll show you my real game next time," Tony said.

Tim chuckled softly. He liked his mom's friend. He was kind of nervous and unsure about him, but he was really nice. He'd saved him when he got lost, bought him dinner, played with him, and even stayed up all night to make him feel safe. It was a little easier to trust him than with any other new person.

"So what are you working on here?" Tony asked.

"Math," Tim said.

"Ugh! I always hated math. Do you like it?" Tony asked.

Tim nodded. "I like school. Alex says that means I'm weird.

Kate listened to the exchange as she continued to make dinner. Tony seemed to have a remarkable way with her son. Tim still had a guardedness in his voice, but he was more comfortable around Tony than he had been with anyone else after just meeting them.

"Eh, he doesn't know what he's talking about. I met him. He's the weirdo," Tony said.

"Tony!" Kate tried to chastise. Her heart wasn't in it though since he was trying to make her son feel better.

"Alex is cool. He has a lot of friends," Tim said.

"Yeah, well, sometimes more friends doesn't mean cooler. It's not cool to be mean to your friends and he was mean to you," Tony said.

Tim shrugged. "Are you gonna stay here again tonight?"

"Honey, Tony can't stay here every right. I told you, we have agents outside to protect us," Kate told her son.

"Yeah, they're going to stay so that I can go help find your dad," Tony said.

"Mom said you're gonna put him in jail," Tim said in an impassive tone.

Tony cringed slightly. Tim didn't give anything away in how he felt about that. It was possible that it upset him. Tim was clearly afraid of his father and didn't want him around, but that didn't mean he wanted him in jail either. Kids loved their parents, even when they didn't deserve it. "Yeah, I am. It's against the law to hurt someone the way your dad hurt Paul. He also tried to kidnap you and that's a crime too."

Tim nodded. "I'm glad. I don't want him to hurt anyone else. C...Can you ask him something for me when you find him?"

"Sure," Tony said uneasy. He could tell he wouldn't like Tim's question for his father.

"Ask him why he hates me," Tim requested.

"Uh, Tim, dinner's almost ready. Put your homework away and go wash up," Kate said.

Tim grabbed his books and his homework and headed for his bedroom.

"Kate, would it bother you a lot if I killed your ex-husband?" Tony asked once the nine-year-old was out of the room. He was right, he hated the kid's question. No child should ever have to ask such a question.

"Yes, very much so. I already have dibs on killing that SOB," Kate said as she started taking the fried chicken she'd made and put it on a large p, welate.

"Okay, well, how about I just beat him until he's almost dead and you finish him off," Tony said only half jokingly.

"Deal," Kate said in the same tone.

"He's a piece of scum. What kind of man treats his kid so badly that he actually believes his father hates him?" Tony asked in disgust as he got up and joined her at the stove.

"Do you have any leads?" Kate asked.

"Not yet. We talked to a couple of the people you mentioned, but so far nothing," Tony said.

"Who'd you speak to?" Kate asked.

"James Williams and Thomas Carter," Tony said.

"I told Gibbs to start with Steven Chambers. He's a little bastard and he has no problem with men beating up on women and children. He actually came to me and told me that my son deserved any punishment his father gave him. I could've killed him," Kate said seething.

"Yeah, it doesn't surprise me given his history. He was discharged a year ago for putting his hands on a female sailor. He was later arrested for domestic abuse. He's in jail right now. It wasn't him. I'm headed to Norfolk to speak McGee's former CO, Ethan Ayers," Tony said.

"I didn't even really consider Ethan. I don't even think I put him down on the list," Kate said.

"No, you didn't. I got his name from Carter. He said they were friends outside of the Navy," Tony said.

"Yeah, they were. It could be him, and if it is, it's because he doesn't believe that the abuse really happened," Kate said.

"He thinks Tim lied?" Tony asked through gritted teeth.

"No, he thinks I misunderstood what I saw," Kate said irritably. She could never get past that idiot. As if she could in any way misunderstand seeing her husband hit her child across the face. Ethan Ayers was a Captain in the Navy. He shouldn't be this stupid.

"Well, if he knows something, we'll find out," Tony promised. "Now, can I help with something here?"

"Yeah, grab some plates from the cabinet over the sink," Kate said.

Tony immediately did as she asked.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony was sitting in an office with Naval Captain Ethan Ayers. "Agent DiNozzo, I haven't seen John in two years."

"I get the feeling you wouldn't tell me if you had, Captain," Tony said.

"i would never withhold information from the authorities, even if I do think he's being railroaded," Ayers said.

"Railroaded? He beat his little boy!"

"No, Kate misconstrued the situation. Okay, yes, John hit Tim and he shouldn't have, but he lost it for a second," he said.

"You're gonna justify hitting a child?" Tony asked in disbelief.

"No, but mistakes do happen. You don't look to be the type that has kids, so I'll just tell you that children can test your limits sometimes and sometimes you just lose it," Ayers explained.

"And you think that's all it was? A one time incident from a father at the end of his rope? Here's the problem I have with that theory. I've spent time with Tim McGee. That little boy can't be around anyone he doesn't know without shaking and stuttering like crazy. The other day, he didn't want to go to sleep because he was terrified his father would try to grab him in the middle of the night. That is not how a child acts after an isolated incident!" Tony practically growled. "Oh, and then there's the nine-year-old boy who was hospitalized because he tried to defend Tim against his father."

"Th...that can't be right," Ayers said.

"Well, it is. Your former sailor gets off on hurting kids. Tell me where the hell he is," Tony ordered.

"I don't know," he said.

"I don't believe you. Tell me what you know or I will haul your ass in, after making sure you know exactly Timothy McGee was subjected to! I am not going to let this little boy spend another day in fear!" Tony said dangerously.

"Look, I really don't know where he is. I haven't spoken to him in months."

"Months? Well, that's different than the two years you originally mentioned," Tony commented.

"He was in the area and he wanted to catch up. I didn't really have the time, and no matter how I felt about the matter, I wasn't up on being seen with a disgraced Sailor," Ayers said.

"You said he was in the area. Where?" Tony asked.

"I really don't know. Just that he was in Norfolk. That was three or four months ago though," he said.

"What about work? He's gotta be working somewhere. Did he tell you that?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, he's working at a small a diner downtown," Ayers said before writing down the name and address and handing it to him.

Tony took the piece of paper and left without another word.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony and Gibbs walked through an apartment building in Norfolk. Tony had gotten the address from McGee's work. He'd wanted to go himself, but Gibbs insisted he wait and not go in alone.

They soon approached the apartment. Gibbs immediately kicked it in. He wasn't giving this piece of crap the chance to run. "NCIS!"

A man with dirty blond hair was in front of them with a gun.

"Put the gun down!" Tony ordered. Secretly, he hoped he didn't put it down. He would love to shoot this SOB for what he'd done to Tim.

John McGee looked at him for a second before lowering his weapon. "He's my son. I had every right to him."

Tony walked forward, grabbed him by the back of the shirt and slammed him face first into a wall.

John yelled out in pain.

"Now you know a flicker of what you put that little boy through," Tony said before slapping a pair of cuffs on him. "You're under arrest for assault and attempted kidnapping," Tony said.

"He's my son," John repeated.

Tony turned him around, slammed him again and held him by the night.

Gibbs stepped forward. "Hey. Let him go. I got it from here."

Tony let go after a minute. "Get him away from me, Boss. Kate wouldn't be happy if I killed him. She already called dibs on that."

Gibbs roughly grabbed the man that tortured his agent's child and pulled him out of the apartment.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Kate opened her door to find Tony there. "Hey. You're making a habit of this. Hey, where'd Matthews go," she asked referring to the agent guarding them.

"I told him to go home," Tim said as he stepped inside. He saw Tony sitting on the couch with a book. "Hey, bud."

"Hi."

Tony sat beside him. "You having a good day?"

"I guess. I miss school," Tim said.

Tony raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Wow, I think that's the first time I've heard that from a kid. Well, don't worry. You get to go back tomorrow."

"Tony?" Kate asked confused.

"Did you find my dad?" Tim asked.

Tony nodded. "He's in jail and he'll stay there. You won't ever have to see him again," Tony assured him.

"You promise?" Tim asked. He felt kind of bad that he wanted his dad in jail, but he was scared of him. He didn't want to ever see him again.

"Yeah."

Kate sighed in relief. Her little boy was finally safe again. They could both get their lives back to normal.

"Did you ask him my question?" Tim asked.

"No, because the answer doesn't matter. Your father is a bad guy, Tim. He doesn't get to have an opinion on you. There's too much wrong with him for him to ever judge anyone else. You're a great kid, Tim. I know that and we've only known each other a few days. The fact that he can't see that means that there's even more wrong with him," Tony said.

Tim smiled and blushed a little. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Tony said.

"Sweetie, go get ready for bed. It's almost time," Kate said.

"Okay," Tim said before standing up.

"Night," Tony said.

"Goodnight, Tony," Tim said back before leaving the room.

"Where was he?" Kate asked when her son left the room.

"Norfolk. A couple of threats and Ayers gave up his workplace. It didn't even take that for his boss to give him up. He's in a holding cell at NCIS," Tony told her.

"I'll be there tomorrow. I will be seeing him," Kate said.

"Kate…"

"He tried to kidnap my son, Tony. I will see him," Kate said firmly.

Tony nodded, giving up. He would do the same thing if he were her. "Well, I better go," he said before standing up.

"Yeah, you're probably exhausted. You probably haven't gotten a lot of sleep the last few days."

"Not really, but probably more than you. I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

Kate abruptly hugged Tony. "Thank you so much, Tony."

Tony hugged her back for a minute before they both pulled away. "I was glad to help the both of you. If either of you need me for anything else, I'll be here."

"Thanks."

Tony nodded and headed out.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony walked into the bullpen the next morning and found Gibbs at his desk. "Hey, Boss."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs greeted. "How's Kate?"

If Tony was surprised that his boss knew he'd seen Kate since they busted McGee, he didn't show it. "She's glad it's finally over. Finally her son is safe Uh, she's coming in. She wants to see McGee," he said as started getting settled at his desk.

"Not alone," Gibbs said firmly. He knew very well that if he left Kate alone with John McGee, he wouldn't make it back to his cell.

"Of course not, Boss. I'll go with her," Tony assured him.

"That's not gonna happen," Gibbs said. Putting Tony in there with Kate would be even more dangerous. Tony might not realize it yet, but he'd formed a bond with Timothy McGee. That had been clear from his reaction when they finally got to McGee. Tony would've killed him if Gibbs hadn't been there.

"Why not? Boss, I'll make sure nothing happens," Tony said.

"Or you'll help something happen. Was with you last night, Tony. I know very well what you would've done to him if I hadn't stopped you," Gibbs said.

Tony sighed. "I just lost it for a second, Boss. All I could see was Tim. When I went to Kate's the other day, he actually asked me to ask McGee why he hated him."

Gibbs cringed. Yeah, that was completely disgusting. No child should ever have to ask such a question. That alone was enough to make McGee a complete scumbag. Then you got into him beating his little boy. Gibbs could never understand how anybody could treat their kid that way.

Tony nodded at the look on his boss' face. "That's right. That's all I could hear when we got there, and all I could see was that asshole beating on such an innocent little kid. That boy is so caring. How can anyone torment him like that, let alone his own father?"

"There are awful people in the world. We both know that. The worst in my opinion are people like McGee. Nothing worse or more cowardly than going after a child," Gibbs said

Tony nodded. "Look, I'll be okay. Let me go with Kate."

"Nope, not taking the risk. You've spent time with this kid. You've witnessed the effects this SOB has had on him. I'll go with Kate," Gibbs said.

As if on cue, Kate walked through the bullpen at that moment and approached Gibbs' desk. "I wanna see him, Gibbs."

"I'll have him brought to Interrogation. I"m going with you," Gibbs informed her before picking up his phone.

Kate didn't bother arguing. She'd pretty much already figured that would be a stipulation anyway. It was probably for the best. Leaving her son motherless because she murdered his father wouldn't do her boy any favors.

"How was Tim last night," Tony asked.

Kate turned to him. "He's still having nightmares. That's probably going to go on for a while. He's back in school though. He was happy about that. He likes school, plus he was kind of climbing the walls at home."

Gibbs put the phone down. "McGee will be in Interrogation one in ten minutes. I get why you have to do this, Kate, but I think for one second you're gonna lose it and it's over."

Kate nodded.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Kate walked into the interrogation room holding her ex-husband with Gibbs right behind her. The second she saw him, she wanted to go after him, strangle or shoot him for what he tried to do to her little boy. Luckily, Gibbs had made her leave her gun at her desk and he was there now to stop her from strangling her.

"Kate," John greeted.

"John," Kate greeted back tightly.

"So I heard they kicked you out of the Secret Service. Now you've been forced into this pathetic excuse for a federal agency," John goaded.

Kate didn't rise to the bait. She had no reason to. She was proud to work for NCIS and had no reason to defend herself, especially to her child abusing ex-husband. "I'm here for my son."

"He's my son too," John said.

"No, he's not. You lost the right to call him that the moment you raised a hand to him!" Kate said angrily.

John shrugged his shoulders, showing no remorse at all. "Someone had to discipline him. You never do. Where I found him is proof. He was in a park on a school day. You had no idea he was there. You've lost control of your own kid."

Kate bristled at the accusation that she wasn't a good parent. She made huge mistakes. She'd failed her son when he was being abused by John, but she was doing good now and she wasn't going to let the likes of her ex-husband tell her otherwise. "You were stalking him! You were waiting for the opportunity to grab him!"

"No, it was a coincidence. I saw him there was this buddies, skipping school. Someone had to do something about it. Anything could've happened to him in that park," John said with a smirk.

"You were protecting him? We might buy that if you hadn't put a nine-year-old in the hospital," Gibbs said.

"The boy attacked me," John said.

Kate laughed humorlessly. "You're gonna claim self-defense? Against a nine-year-old? Please. Tim and his friends told us what happened. You tried to kidnap him and his friend, Paul, bravely stood up to you so Tim could get away. You terrorised three kids, sending one into the hospital and causing another to get lost in the woods! We searched for him for hours! He could've been hurt before we found him!"

"He shouldn't have run."

Kate hissed angrily. "That was the smartest thing he did! He knew better than to go anywhere with you and I thank God for it! Who knows what you would've done to him?"

John leaned forward in his chair and glared. "I never did anything to him he didn't deserve! He was nothing but a little wimp! He needed to be taught to toughen up and to behave! I could've taught him, but you had to interfere.

Gibbs moved closer to Kate, knowing she was seconds away from losing it. He himself had a hard time listening to this crap. He would never understand how any father could speak about his own child like that. He'd loved his daughter so much and he would've killed anyone who spoke of her in such a way. He certainly couldn't fathom saying things like that himself.

It took every bit of her willpower for Kate not to lunge at John. "You piece of garbage! There is nothing wrong with my son! He is perfect! If you can't see it, it's your problem, not his. You will never hurt my son again. If you come near him again, I'll kill you myself!"

"He won't get the chance. Assault on a child and attempted kidnapping will have this bastard in prison for at least the remainder of your son's childhood," Gibbs said.

"We'll see," John said.

"You better pray he's right. You'll be a lot safer in prison," Kate said before heading for the door.

Gibbs followed her out. "You okay."

"For the most part. Getting over this will probably take at least a few days, but I'll be fine," Kate said.

Just then, Gibbs' phone rang. "Yeah, Gibbs. Okay, we'll be right there."

"Case," Kate asked as he hung up the phone.

"Yep. You up for it or do you need a couple more days," Gibbs asked.

"No, I'm good," Kate said as they walked towards the bullpen.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony was bored. He was sitting at his desk working cold cases, as they had no active case currently. Of course, Kate managed to get out of his fate by volunteering to lend a hand with a case Balboa's team was working. She was out there working a small undercover assignment while he was stuck looking at cases from like twenty and thirty years ago.

Obviously, things had gone back to normal in the few weeks since Kate's ex had been caught. Realizing that he couldn't win in court, John McGee had taken a plea that would thankfully have him in prison until Tim was way into his adult years. The man would never bother him again. Tony couldn't think of a better outcome.

"Why don't I see your eyes on that file instead of off in space, DiNozzo," Gibbs asked gruffly as he walked to his desk, pulling the agent back to the present.

Tony immediately straightened up in his chair and turned back to the file. "Getting back to it, Boss."

Gibbs settled back at his desk and started getting back to his own work.

Soon, they both heard a phone ring and turned to see that it was coming from Kate's desk. Since Kate was undercover, even if the mission was a small one, she couldn't have her regular cell on her. She had to leave it behind and use a burner.

Tony, who aside from glancing up for a second had ignored the phone call, soon heard his own phone go off about five minutes later. He immediately took it out and answered it. "DiNozzo."

" _Hi. I am speaking with Anthony DiNozzo, correct?"_

"Yes, who is this?" Tony asked.

" _I'm calling from Morris Elementary in regards to Timothy McGee."_

"Is he alright?" Tony asked immediately with alarm in his voice.

" _Yes, he's fine. He was involved in a fight with another boy and we need someone to come down. We tried calling his mother, but we can't reach her. You're listed as an emergency contact,"_ the woman said.

That surprised Tony. Kate had made him an emergency contact. She trusted him enough to take care of her son if she couldn't? That was a big deal to him because he knew Kate didn't trust just anyone with her kid. Her bastard of an ex had taken away any trust she had in anyone for that boy. "Okay, I'll be right down."

Gibbs watched as Tony hung up and then he raised an eyebrow at him, demanding an explanation.

Tony stood up from his desk. "Boss, there's a small problem with Kate's son. They couldn't get in touch with her, so they called me. He's okay, but someone has to go down there."

"Go. Take him home. There's nothing pressing here," Gibbs said.

"Okay, thanks, Boss," Tony said before grabbing his stuff and rushing to the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony was highly irritated as he unlocked the door to Kate's apartment. He'd gotten the spare key from Kate's neighbor to let himself and Tim.

"Tony, are you mad at me?" Tim asked meekly once they were inside.

"You? No, you didn't do anything wrong," Tony said. Oh, he was plenty angry. He was mad at the school for suspending Tim for something that wasn't even really his fault, and that other kid's parents for defending their kid's bullying ways. Tim had gotten into a fight with another boy in his class at recess. The kid had punched him, giving him a fat lip and Tim had struck back by pushing the boy. Apparently the stupid school considered a little push to be on par with punching a kid in the face, so both boys got the same punishment.

"I pushed Bryan," Tim said as though it were very obvious that he had done something wrong.

"After he punched you," Tony pointed out.

"The principal said it doesn't matter. That I should've asked for help instead of hitting back," Tim said

Tony grumbled to himself a little. He could say a few things about that principal, in fact, he did say a few things to the man's face. Present company shouldn't hear those things though, so he decided not to repeat them now.

"I didn't wanna push him, but he came after me again and I thought he would hit me again. I just wanted to keep him away from me. I'm sorry," Tim said.

"Hey, it's okay. That kid was the one to blame, not you," Tony told him. Yes, in theory, walking away might be a better approach, but when someone's coming after you, it's not exactly the easiest thing to do. "How's your lip doing?"

Tim brought his hand up to his face. "It feels really big."

"Let's get you some ice," Tony said before leading the way into the kitchen. He opened the freezer and started looking for an ice pack. He was sure Kate had one because she had a nine-year-old boy and they tended to get hurt at times. Sure enough, he found one on the door. "Here we go. Hold this to your lip for a while."

"Mom's gonna be mad," Tim said with a cringe before bringing the the ice pack to his lip.

"No, I think she'll understand. From the way you told it, I don't think you really had much choice," Tony said.

"So how about we hang out. We can watch TV or play some video games. You owe me a rematch if I recall," Tony said with a smile.

"Really?" Tim asked surprised. It felt very much like he was being rewarded for getting in trouble at school and that just wasn't done.

"Absolutely, but maybe we'll wait a bit for the video games. Let you ice that lip for a bit. How about for now we find a movie?" Tony asked.

"Okay," Tim said before following the man into the living room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Kate rushed towards her apartment at around six. She'd just gotten back from helping with Balboa's case and Gibbs told her that Tony had to go pick up her son. Gibbs promised Tim was okay, but she was still worried about what had happened.

Once Kate made it inside, she heard both Tony and Tim's voices coming from the dining room. She went towards them and found them both eating pizza.

"I could eat this everyday," Tony said.

"Me too, but Mom wouldn't let me," Tim said.

Kate relaxed after finally seeing that her son was okay. She still needed to find out what happened, but for the moment, she would just be relieved he was alright.

After a few seconds, Tony noticed his partner. "Hey, Kate. How'd things go."

Tim, meanwhile, suddenly looked down at his plate, not wanting to face his mother. He just knew she was going to be mad at him for the fight.

"It went fine. Though afterwards, I find out that the one day I'm unreachable, something happens. Thank you for taking care of things for me," Kate said.

"I was working cold cases. I was happy to get away," Tony joked. Truthfully, he'd been quite worried when he got that phone call. He just didn't want to imagine something really serious happening to Tim. He was very fond of the little boy. "Anyway, come sit. I ordered plenty of Pizza. Got a whole pie of your favorite."

Kate walked over to them. She took her coat off and hung it on the chair beside her son and sat down. She immediately noticed that Tim wouldn't look at her. That told her that whatever happened, he was worried she'd be angry. "Well, it looks to me like someone got in trouble today. Look at me please, Tim."

Tim mad no move to lift his head.

"Now," Kate said in stern tone.

Tim finally picked his head up, but he still avoided his mother's eyes.

With his head finally facing her, Kate got a very good look at her son's fat and bruised lip. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but I didn't want him to hit me again. I'm sorry, Mom," Tim rambled.

"Hey, first, look me in the eyes please," Kate said calmly. She waited for him to do so before continuing. "Thank you. Now pleas tell me what happened. You know that even if I get mad, it will be alright. I will always be fair."

Tim nodded that he did know. "I was at recess. I wasn't even bothering anyone. Paul didn't come to school today, so I was by myself. Then Bryan came over and started teasing me. He teases everybody. I called him a jerk and he punched me."

Kate made a mental note. She would be contacting that boy's parents tomorrow. She would not allow her son to be bullied, and even more than that, she would not allow to be physically attacked. That had happened enough in his life. "Okay, well, I know you don't think I'm angry at you for being hit, so there's more to the story, right?"

"Yeah. When I got up, Bryan came towards me, so I pushed him away. I didn't mean to. I didn't think about it. I just didn't want to get hit again, so I just did it without thinking. I'm sorry!" Tim said. Towards the end, he was rambling again.

"Okay, calm down. You know it's not okay to hit people, but if that's the way it happened, you were just trying to keep yourself from being hit again. I'm not going to punish you for that," Kate assured him.

"But the principal said I was just as guilty for pushing him back," Tim said.

Kate looked over at Tony, who scowled. From the look on his face, she guessed he went a few rounds with the principal.

"They suspended him for the rest of the week, just like the other boy," Tony said.

"Great," Kate said sarcastically before turning back to her son. "Look, the school has its own rules. I don't agree with them on this matter. I don't want you going around hitting people, but you were hit first and you had no other option in that moment but to hit back or get hit again. You're not in trouble with me."

Tim smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

"If you're done eating, how about you go get started on whatever school work you were given for the next few days?" Kate suggested.

"Okay," Tim said before getting up and heading for his room.

Kate grabbed a piece of pizza and paper plate from the stack on the table. "Thanks again for your help, Tony."

"No problem. I was surprised when they said you listed me as an emergency contact," Tony said.

"Well, I figured it would be a good idea to have one of you put down, and Tim likes you. There aren't many out there that he trusts," Kate said.

"You either."

"No, but I'm trying, and if there's anyone I can trust, it's you and Gibbs," Kate said.

"Thanks," Tony said.

"So what do I owe you for the pizza?" Kate asked.

"Not a dime. It was no problem," Tony said.

"No, come on. You've done a lot today. At least let me pay you for the pizza," Kate said.

"I enjoyed every minute of it. Well, except for the idiot principal and the asshole parents, but that's hardly your fault. Really, it was no big deal. I don't want your money," Tony said firmly. He was sure he made it very clear he wouldn't take her cash.

Kate sighed. "Fine, but you're going to let me make you dinner this weekend."

"Now that I'll gladly take," Tony said with a smile. He loved spending time with Kate and Tim, so he would absolutely let her cook him dinner. "I think I'm going to head out. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night," Kate said before watching him get up and head towards the door.


End file.
